Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) education is generally seen as an approach to higher education that emphasises an interdisciplinary curriculum, encompassing various disciplines, to cultivate critical thinking, communication skills, problem-solving abilities, and a deep understanding of the world.
As one of the world's top 1% multidisciplinary universities, the University of Helsinki provides an excellent basis for a Bachelor's Programme in Liberal Arts and Sciences. The core of the programme lies in interdisciplinary collaboration across six faculties, integrating natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. It also allows students to develop expertise and continue to Master’s programmes in the humanities, data science, social sciences, life sciences and agricultural, environmental and forest sciences.
Students do not need to know their exact interests at the start. Many disciplinary modules fit into multiple specialisations, and there is space for optional studies. The programme design allows exploring and finding areas of interest when joining the programme, while ensuring a coherent expert profile at the end of the studies, instead of graduating with a mix of disconnected pieces of knowledge.
Admission to the programme will be based on performance in a suitable test (e.g. SAT/ACT, IB or Finnish matriculation examination), with criteria equally weighing reading, writing and mathematical prowess. The full admission criteria will be published at the Finnish national education portal Studyinfo.fi. at the latest in autumn.
For studies starting in autumn 2026, the application periods will be in early 2026.
As of 1 Jan 2025, non-EU/EEA citizens must pay an application fee when applying to programmes leading to a degree in higher education in Finland (excl. doctoral degrees and Erasmus Mundus programmes).
The fee is a one-time national fee of 100 euros that covers all applications to studies beginning in the same academic term.
The fee is not collected from applicants who have:
The Finnish National Agency of Education will collect the application fee in connection with filling out the application form at the Finnish national education portal Studyinfo. The fee must be paid or you must upload a document proving the exempted category. Otherwise your application will not be processed.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to get an application fee waiver.
The application fee does not guarantee that you will be offered admission to studies.
There is a tuition fee for students who are not citizens of a European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland OR do not have permanent residence status in Finland. EU/EEA citizens or citizens of Switzerland are not liable to pay tuition fees.
Please note that the University of Helsinki does not offer scholarships for applicants to the Bachelor's Programme in Liberal Arts and Science.
Planning a budget for your studies is important, as all the students at the University of Helsinki must fund their studies and living expenses themselves. Ensure that you have adequate funding and enough financial means for the entire period of your studies.
In the Bachelor's Programme in Liberal Arts and Sciences, the education is rooted in the interdisciplinary study and application of the natural sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities. Through being exposed to, and needing to integrate disciplinary outlooks, students will learn, alongside disciplinary skills, broadly useful meta-skills of interdisciplinary contextualisation, analysis, problem-solving and critical thinking.
The structure of the programme is designed in a way that allows a lot of exploration of different options and results in a broad education. At the same time, the multiple sets of structured choices make the students end up with (inter)disciplinary expert profiles, useful in both looking for jobs, as well as providing direct pathways to multiple master's level study options both at the University of Helsinki and elsewhere.
Liberal Arts and Sciences programmes have been proven through research to provide skills useful in both today's as well as tomorrow's job market. As evidenced by further research, these skills are also valued by employers, leading to good job-market outcomes for graduates.
If you have any questions about admissions at the University of Helsinki, please contact our admission advisers for guidance. You can also check out some statistics on student admissions.
When choosing a university, it is important to get the location right too. What has Helsinki and Finland to offer when it comes to education and a way of life? What's the cost of living? Is it easy to find housing?
Did you know that students in Finland are entitled to lots of benefits, discounts and services? For example, affordable student housing, low-cost sports services, and student-priced meals. You also get numerous discounts, for example on public transport fees across the country.
University of Helsinki, the oldest and largest institution of academic education in Finland, has since 1640 played a major role in the development of the Finnish cultural life and welfare state. Today, we seek solutions to problems that affect everyone.
As one of the world's top 1% research universities, we believe that the power of knowledge can change attitudes, people and society – for a better world.